Category: Android Phone

Google has released an updated version of the Android System WebView app that addresses several bugs around inline video playing and graphic driver bugs.  What is Android System WebView you ask?  It is actually installed on every Android device and it a Chrome powered application that allows Android apps to display web content.  It is an update that everyone should make sure they have installed on their devices, particularly if you have had some troublesome apps that won’t display web content or display it properly.  The new version is, wait for it… 43.0.2357.121.

Also note that this update is only for devices running Lollipop 5.0 or higher.  If you are on KitKat or older, you will not see this update.

Today over at Amazon you can get a great deal on the BLU Studio 6.0 LTE Phablet.  Regularly priced at $279, today you can get it for $206, a savings of over 25%.  This 6″ display device is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor and has 16GB of on board storage which you can expand up to an addition 64GB with the Micro-SD slot.  It is also equipped with an impressive 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera for great photos.  While the Snapdragon 400 is certainly pedestrian by the new set of Snapdragon processors on the market, it is still quite snappy and for the price, this phone is hard to beat.

BLU Studio 6.0 LTE with 6-Inch Full HD Display, 13MP Camera, Android KitKat v4.4 and 4G LTE HSPA+ Unlocked Cell Phone – White

If you are on T-Mobile here in the US and carry the Sony Z3, you are about to have a good Wednesday. Starting today the carrier is rolling out Lollipop to the device and with the update will also come support for LTE Band 12.  The news came via Twitter thanks to T-Mobile’s Des Smith who tweeted the update would be coming via an OTA (Over The Air) update to the device.

Software Update: @TMobile #Z3 – #Lollipop + Band 12 support! Should start after Midnight Pacific ✌Des pic.twitter.com/766pvQpKsq

— Des (@askdes) June 2, 2015

It’s good news for sure as the Sony Z3 has been a popular device globally and one that is more than capable of running the latest version of Android.

I’m a big fan of Chipotle and their app is one of the better food/restaurant apps out there. It makes ordering your favorite burrito from your local store where you can pick it up to enjoy at work or at home. Now it just got a little bit better. With the update that is now in the Play Store, version 2.2.0 for those keeping score at home, the Chipotle app will now let you pay for your food with your Google Wallet.

A couple of weeks ago I did a quick overview of Microsoft’s preview of Word for Android Phone. Since that overview, Microsoft has already released another update to the preview, giving it more stability and improving some of the functionality.  Now it is time to look at PowerPoint for Android Phone. Like Word (and Excel), it is also in Preview (or as it use to be called, beta) so if you decide to download these apps you may run into the odd behavior or bug.

PowerPoint for Android Phone is impressive.  In my “day job” I use PowerPoint on a daily basis and regardless of platform – Windows Phone, Android or iOS – I have found Office for Mobile (the old Microsoft Office app for phones) to be very limiting and in some cases, useless. That is not the case with the new breed of Office apps and PowerPoint for Android phone is a prime example. It is feature rich and easy to navigate, a far cry from it’s predecessor.  In fact, if you were stuck with only your Android Phone and had to create a presentation, this app is more than powerful enough to allow you to do it including things like slide transitions and photo inserts.  It is as close to desktop PowerPoint as you can get on a phone and unless you have some very specific need, PowerPoint for Android Phone will do 99% of what the average user needs.

If you have followed my site for the last few weeks you will have noticed a lot more Android updates.  It’s partly because I have to use an Android device for my day job but also it is good to expand horizons.  I’ve never been a big fan of Android.  I don’t really like the UI although it is certainly better than the last time I really tried to use one, circa Ice Cream Sandwich.  But it’s still not may favorite.  That’s Windows Phone.  I love the personal experience of Windows Phone that despite Google’s best efforts – and Apple’s with iOS for that matter – just can’t replicate well.

One factor about Windows Phone that I and many other sites and users have moaned about however is the upgrade process.  While an update may be available, it could take months or never for that update to hit your phone depending on your country and if your phone is locked to a carrier.  Everyone’s favorite example is Verizon and the Lumia Cyan update which never came out.  Instead, owners of the Lumia ICON (Lumia 930 in the rest of the world) had to wait a full year before that got it and Lumia Denim at the same time.  A year.  It’s unacceptable and is something that Microsoft has said they are addressing with the release of Windows 10 Mobile.

If however you are thinking that the Android grass is greener, guess again.  The upgrading of Android devices to the next version of the OS, Lollipop, if fraught with problems, delays and phones that, while can run it, will never get the update.  Compounding this is the sheer number of devices that are out there and all the possible permutations of Android that have to be developed to support those devices.  By Gartner’s estimate, there are over 18,000 versions of Android out in the wild today.  18,000!  That makes a uniform, systematic upgrade virtually impossible.